The Espaillat family, owners of the iconic Jet Set nightclub, is facing a new legal challenge following the collapse of its roof on 8 April 2025, killing over 260 during a merengue concert.
The family of one of the victims, Ramón Osiris Blanc Castillo, has filed a private criminal complaint and joined the Public Ministry’s case, formally accusing the establishment’s managers of involuntary manslaughter, and this time including the mother of the two first charged with responsibility in the case, Noticias SIN reports.
The civil suit seeks over RD$50 million (approximately US$850,000) in compensation, arguing that the defendants, identified as executives of the operating company, Inversiones E y L, S.R.L., grossly violated their duty of safety.
Filed before the First Investigating Court of the National District, the complaint targets Antonio Espaillat López, Ana Grecia López, and Maribel Espaillat López, along with Inversiones E y L, S.R.L. as a civilly liable third party. Ana Grecia Lopez is the founder of the business that she opened in 1973. Her offspring later joined her taking over the operation.
Attorneys representing the victim’s wife, Patricia Elizabeth Paola Ulloa, his minor children, and his relative, Osiris Armando Blanc, contend that the collapse was “a catastrophe totally avoidable.” The suit, grounded in Article 319 of the Dominican Penal Code, argues the failure was a direct result of severe negligence and critical omissions by the business’s management.
The lawyers maintain that the managers permitted the nightclub to operate under structural conditions that posed a clear and evident risk to patrons.
A technical report contracted by the government points to negligence and overload of the roof as the main reason for the collapse.
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Noticias SIN
Hoy
El Caribe
1 December 2025